(Nashville, TN) January 8, 2021—Announced today, LaTasha Estelle and Shawn LeBar will lead a newly divided sales focus for the independent retail channels at HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus. To better accommodate the unique needs of indie bookstores across the nation, HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus will now have separate teams to manage its Christian-based independent retail accounts and general market, or ABA (American Booksellers Association) bookstores.
“HarperCollins Focus is a fast-growing business with a positive market response,” said Dan Van Gorp, senior vice president of Sales. “We must be able to accommodate the needs of our retail channels in unique ways, ensuring that we are tailoring how we communicate and present titles. Readers will continue to shop and remain loyal to both, however, the consumer experience at a Christian indie bookstore is very different from a general market indie.”
Estelle, with more than 20 years in sales at HarperCollins Publishers has been promoted to sales director for ABA Indies and Libraries for HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus. Previously she was the key accounts manager for brick-and-mortar retail working with Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Hobby Lobby, Ingram, amongst others. She will now oversee sales and marketing efforts for the ABA Indie and Library channel.
LeBar will join the company on January 24, 2021 as sales director, CBA Indies after spending nine years working in the inspirational gifts industry. LeBar is a sales veteran with more than 25 years of experience, most recently at Christian Art Gifts as sales manager.
“I am excited for both LaTasha and Shawn to begin leading our company at this capacity,” continued Van Gorp. “Both have exceptional sales experience and a deep understanding of the retail market. They will work alongside one another to ensure that our independent retailers remain critical in our community and to all of bookselling.”
Contact: Casey Harrell, Senior, Director, Corporate Communications, 615.902.1109, casey.harrell@harpercollins.com
